Anne Frank and Me
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The Poplar Pike Playhouse is traveling back in time with its latest production Anne Frank and Me. The show follows the story of Nicole Burns, a modern day teen who is forced to live the life of a Jewish citizen in France during the Holocaust. While the show itself does not revolve around the life of Anne Frank, it still presents a strong historical background.
Nicole isn’t the only character we see, throughout the show there are other characters like a slick, charming boy Nicole loves, a boy who has his heart set on her, a very outgoing best friend, and many others.
One of the main characters in Anne Frank and Me is Mimi, a very spirited, outgoing girl who perfectly fills the role as Nicole’s best friend. Mimi, played by Mazzy Clements, despises the Nazi party and wishes to join the resistance against them.
“Mimi isn’t affected by the Holocaust like Nicole is because she’s not Jewish,” says Clements. “But Mimi still disagrees with the actions against the Jewish population so she helps where she can, especially with Nicole’s family.”
Another interesting character is Jack, who in modern times is the most popular guy at Nicole’s school, but in 1942 Paris he is the twin brother of Mimi and is the love interest for Nicole. Jack, played by Elijah Bienz, is not Jewish; but unlike Mimi, Jack supports the Nazi party.
“Jack isn’t an evil character, nor is he ignorant,” says Bienz. “He supports the Nazis because he doesn’t understand what’s really happening; his information is limited to that of an average Frenchman and his brother Andre, who is working with the Nazis.”
Jean is another major character in the show. However, he only appears in 1942 Paris. He is the father of Nicole during the holocaust and has a unique attitude when compared to the other characters. Jean, played by Trevor Hardin, is similar to Mimi in the fact that he wants the Jewish people to be free.
“Jean tries to be the hero in the show,” says Hardin. “He joins the resistance in the fight against the Germans not only because he believes it’s what is right, but also because he wants to keep his family safe.”
See more of the characters this fall when the Poplar Pike Playhouse presents Anne Frank and Me opening November 5th through November 15th. Tickets are on sale starting October 19th and can be purchased online or through the Poplar Pike Playhouse box office at (901) 755-7775.
The cast of Anne Frank and Me includes Amber Allen, Grace Brandl, Mazzy Clements ,Meredith Drown, Summer Eggert, Emily Garrett, Raneem Imam, Jackie Kamin, Sara Mayers, Dinah Mitchell, Scarlett Simpson, Elijah Bienz, Kyle Bowers, Austin Carrico, Charlie Duran, T revor Hardin, Alan Toney, Dalton Martin, Bryan Scott, Vontrell Thomas, and Leonid Mazor is the director.